# K-selection

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A theory involving natural selection based on quality.

## Etymology
Coined by the American ecologists Robert H. MacArthur and E. O. Wilson in 1967. The choice of the letter K came from the German Kapazitätsgrenze (“capacity limit”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/k-selection